Un-Amicable
by sp0by
Summary: Guys don't ever want to just be Spencer's friend. They always want something more from her. Revisiting Spencer's past relationships throughout the series.
1. Wren

**A/N: So, uh, if you're a PLL watcher, you probably already know that there's no such thing as a "male friend" for Spencer Hastings. Every boy she's ever talked to has _always_ ended up wanting to hook up with her. Yikes, right? Especially when she could really use a friend sometimes, outside of her girl circle. I mean, Emily had a friend in Toby, Aria had a friend in Holden, Hanna had a friend in Lucas, and Alison (sorta...) had a friend in Noel. But Spencer? All the boys just wanna date her. **

**Aaaand that's why we're here today! This is a fic that is revisiting all Spencer's male "friendships." It's not to rewrite history and make them all her BFFs, but instead to analyze these relationships... sometimes, how she was somewhat taken advantage of. How she needed a friend sometimes but instead got guys who wanted her. This story canonically follows the events of the show, revisiting canon relationships.**

 _UN-AMICABLE_

WREN

There was something ringing through Spencer's body—it had been doing that ever since she received the news of Alison DiLaurentis's disappearance. And every day she woke up hoping she would be one-hundred percent OK. She hoped that her body would stop aching because... Alison DiLaurentis was a bitch, right? Her life was easier without a best friend who was always causing her trouble and going head to head with her, right?

 _Wrong._

That was what the whole town was starting to suspect—that the girls (especially Spencer) didn't even care about the blonde Queen Bee since she was notoriously rude. Sure, she got into her heated arguments with Alison, but that didn't mean she didn't love the girl. That didn't mean she didn't have her good moments with the girl. Whether or not they fought, whether or not Spencer was "jealous" that the other girl was the leader of their group, they were still best friends. Spencer did love her; she really did. The blonde had gotten under her skin more times than she could count on her fingers, but it was... _sisterly_ , in the worst way. They would go at each other's throats, but that didn't mean there wasn't a void in her life now that the blonde was missing.

And Spencer wouldn't wish... _death_ upon anyone. Not even a mean girl.

Really, she was wishing that people weren't staring at her at school and in town, probably wondering if she was glad her best friend was dead, or even wondering if _she_ could be responsible. Because the people in this town were so insensitive that they, mostly, were _glad_ that the former Queen Bee was gone. And that made Spencer's heart ache more because maybe... maybe she understood what it was like to make mistakes, too. She had made a few of them before, and she was still making some now.

She wished that she had somebody to open up to about all of this. She was freaking frightened, she couldn't lie, as much as she loved to put on a brave face and make everybody think she was stronger than she truly was.

First thing: her best friend was found dead, probably murdered by some psychopath. Second thing: she was getting creepy text messages from some anonymous person. Luckily, she wasn't _alone_ , but she still felt alone... for some reason.

She wanted to talk to Aria, Hanna, and Emily about this more. She really did. She wished she could feel close to them again and tell them about everything, but... quite honestly, they weren't the way they used to be anymore. Maybe Alison DiLaurentis really was the glue that was holding them together, because as soon as she disappeared over a year ago, their friend group started falling apart. Aria went to Iceland, Hanna started hanging out with Mona Vanderwaal all the time (and was 'transforming' herself), and Emily was... absent (her interests were focused elsewhere, maybe in swimming or her boyfriend Ben, Spencer didn't really know because they didn't really talk all that much anymore). Frankly, the only reason they were talking again was because they were all getting the creepy text messages, too.

She didn't _know_ if she would ever be able to talk to them about what she was feeling. There was too much baggage, right? But part of her wondered if them knowing Alison would make this easier, since they were maybe feeling the pain she was feeling, too. She was sure the other girls cared for Alison, too. She was sure that Emily loved her a lot, since they were always the closest in the group. But for some reason, she still felt like she couldn't talk to them. She wished she had... somebody else.

And her parents?

Well, _of course_ not. She could _never_ talk to them about this. They were already up her ass about keeping her grades and extracurriculars going well for college, as much fake sympathy they sometimes gave her. Her "grieving period" for Alison ended long ago in the Hastings household. Her friend's death was "sad" to them, but it also didn't mean that she could give up everything she had been working for. No, no... _not_ the prestigious college. Giving _that_ up was sinful.

Then she wouldn't become a cookie cutter perfect Hastings family member. Melissa did that well.

Right, there was _Melissa_ , with her successful life and her charming British fiancé. She got the barn and Spencer was still pissed about it. And that British fiancé... _Wren Kingston_ was his name.

He was quite something, Spencer thought. She liked talking to him. She liked that he showed an interest in her. It made her feel... _wanted_ when he talked to her and flashed that pearly, charming white smile. It was as if she mattered to somebody.

Out of all of Melissa's boyfriends, Wren Kingston was certainly her favorite one... well, not exactly boyfriend. Fiancé, he was. But he was certainly Spencer's favorite man that Melissa had brought home.

She didn't feel so alone when she talked to him. She wondered if she would ever be able to tell him what was going on her life. Maybe he would make good ears... maybe he would listen to her talk about how much her world was shaken when Alison DiLaurentis went missing. Maybe he would at least be able to sympathize... or maybe just listen. He seemed to be a pretty good listener.

Spencer liked that somebody actually listened to her. For that, she kept growing fond of him as they spent more time together.

And she wanted to _keep_ feeling wanted by him. She felt desperate and stupid but she wanted him to want her. Hell, it was so wrong because he was Melissa's fiancé and he probably didn't look at her that way, right? She was a stupid kid and he was just talking to her out of pity. He _did_ know that Spencer's best friend had died. He probably just felt bad for her because of that, right?

Her mind was a wreck when Wren gave her a back massage one day. She was wearing her bikini... so much exposed skin. His hands were touching the exposed skin of her shoulders and back, rubbing perfectly and making her _feel_ something. She felt wanted again. Somebody wanted her.

Oh _God_ , was she that desperate? She hated herself for this... she hated herself so much. Melissa had hurt her a lot in the past, but Spencer had hurt her sister, too. And she had done this once with Ian, was she really doing this again?

It was crazy to her how she always seemed to want what Melissa had. In her mind, she was starting to realize that maybe she envied her older sister's perfect life. Melissa was successful, engaged, wildly appreciated by their parents, and she sure as hell wasn't aching inside because her best friend was recently murdered.

But Spencer was, and Wren Kingston was a sweet distraction that she didn't want to let go of.

She felt even more stupid when, in her room, their lips ended up crashing, kissing heavily. Spencer figured her _id_ had gotten way out of hand. This was stupid. So, so stupid... She kept kissing it him and it felt so good that he was kissing her back, but did she really think that this was going to get rid of the void inside of her?

Because it wasn't. It wasn't getting rid of the void.

She still felt pain and maybe she should have tried to find a real friend to listen to her instead of making out with her older sister's fiancé. She felt like an idiot for realizing that while she was in the middle of kissing him, but she was glad she even realized it.

He kept trying to go further... kept trying to kiss her more.

But she pushed him off of her.

"Stop, stop, stop... You can't do this. It's not right."

Her eyes were wide. Both of them were breathless, in shock (kind of) due to what just happened. And Spencer was glad she managed to stop it because she was feeling so lonely inside that she was afraid of herself... afraid of what might have happened if she couldn't control her loneliness. She would have let him take it further, let herself make a _huge_ mistake (although she already made a pretty big mistake by kissing him back in the first place, and she knew that).

But she had no idea that Melissa was standing outside of her bedroom, and had witnessed the entire thing. She had witnessed her little sister greedily locking lips with _her_ fiancé.

And Spencer was blaming herself heavily, but she knew it was his fault, too. Now it was abundantly evident that he had been flirting with her all along. Why would he flirt with her if he wanted to marry Melissa?

He was also the one who had initiated the kiss. After continuously flirting with her in her bedroom, he had pulled her in for a kiss. She wished she hadn't made the bad decision and kissed him back, but she did. God, she did, and she had no idea what was going to happen next. Was he still going to marry Melissa?

Things got even worse when she, the next day, discovered that Melissa had seen them kissing. Her family was furious with her, and Spencer was feeling guilty. But her family was antagonizing _her_ the most, and that was what hurt so badly. Sure, her family was furious with Wren and he had been banished after Melissa broke off their engagement, but she was still taking most of the heat for it. It was like her family thought that _she_ caused it... like she was responsible and had lured Wren in and caused him to cheat on Melissa.

It wasn't like that.

Spencer wished he hadn't flashed her that charming smile and made her feel so wanted, because then she wouldn't have destroyed everything with her family. Melissa _hated_ her. She wouldn't even look at her at home.

One morning, Spencer got a voicemail from Wren. She swallowed hard, wondering if she was going to regret listening to it. But she listened anyway. He asked her if she was willing to come meet him, and gave her the address of this place he was apparently staying at. Spencer didn't know what his intentions were or if it was a good idea to go, but she ended up going. And of course, she didn't tell anyone she was meeting him.

When she met up with him, he was nice to her. So, so nice to her that she felt herself wanting his company again because with her family hating her, she was feeling even more lonely these days. And it felt good because Wren seemed to maybe... _actually_ care about her?

And her motivation for going to see Wren was to tell him to try to talk to her family and calm them down (she was tired of being blamed when she knew he was responsible, too... he was an adult, right?). But somehow, he ended up saying:

"But perhaps my real mistake was falling for the wrong sister."

And God, she had to get out of there as quickly as possible because she would probably make another mistake if she stayed. He wanted her, he really did, didn't he? Spencer swallowed hard; she wasn't used to being the wanted one. She was used to being the one living in Melissa's shadow. She was used to Melissa being the better Hastings sister. But for once, _she_ was the better Hastings sister. In Wren's eyes, _she_ was.

She wasn't sure how much Wren's opinion matted in the grand scheme of things, but it sure felt damn good that somebody cared about her.

"Um, I should go..."

She rushed away from him, trying not to look back even when he made a comment about her "wretched" home, but she did... but after that, she rushed home. She felt so... _icky_. What the hell had her life come to?

He showed up at her house drunk a few days later, asking for her to "summon her father" so that they could talk. And Spencer knew she was attracted to him (or at least she liked the attention that he was giving her), but she knew that this wasn't something meant to last. They kissed when she took him back to where he was staying, but when she walked away from him that night, she knew it was the end of whatever they had going on.

She wasn't going to do _this_ anymore.

It was time to focus on the many other things she had to worry about. She was slowly growing closer with Aria, Hanna, and Emily, and she hoped it kept going in a positive direction because there was no way that she was going to get comfort from guys like Wren.

He could kiss her and make her feel good (except the ickiness from the guilt she felt afterwards every time), but she knew this wasn't going to make things any better.

He wasn't worth it, and she probably never should have fallen for his charm in the first place.

Maybe it was a _thing_ for Melissa's boyfriends to like her. Maybe it was fun for them. Maybe he was similar to Ian (but a little better than Ian, of course).

She figured that right now, her mind probably wasn't in the best state to be seeing anybody. _Especially_ not her sister's ex-fiancé.


	2. Alex

**Alex Santiago is probably one of the better guys on this long list of men who have wanted Spencer. But of course, we still should revisit their relationship! Here's the next chapter.**

 _UN-AMICABLE_

ALEX

Spencer really liked Alex Santiago.

He was a really, really good guy in this scheme of terrible things happening in her life. One, he was pretty cute. Two, he was pretty sweet. Three, he was pretty into her. And it sure as hell felt like a much healthier relationship than the "relationship" she had with Wren Kingston.

He probably wasn't the type of guy her parents wanted her to date. He was on the less wealthy side. But to Spencer, the money wasn't important. She liked him and his personality. And he certainly made her feel less lonely.

She didn't know if they would last forever, but she liked the feeling of being with him. She liked their playfulness and she liked the rush she felt when she was around him.

She almost lost him during the homecoming dance. Her life was hectic and that was the bad part—it didn't seem like Alex was very understanding of her running around trying to make sure Emily wasn't murdered by Toby Cavanaugh (who they believed was Alison's killer). But then again, why would he be patient? He had no idea what she was doing. He had no idea what she was going through. He had no idea about the text messages from A. And frankly, she didn't really talk to him about Alison.

They almost ended things that time, but Spencer fought for him because she _wanted_ this. It was nice to have somebody, really. She wasn't about to let a good guy like Alex leave her life just yet.

She went to see him at the country club in an attempt to repair their sinking relationship. But even though he forgave her for her mistakes, Spencer found out that he and his co-workers made fun of the elite country club members on something called "The Bitch Board." And that Bitch Board included her and Melissa. Spencer was... devastated, really. She felt unwanted and bad about herself. Alex protested, but she stormed off.

But she soon found a way to forgive him because she didn't want to lose him. She had made mistakes, too, but Alex had found a way to forgive her. She returned to the country club.

They danced together to a beautiful song in the kitchen, their bodies moving in a perfect flow, working so well together. It definitely felt right to be there with him. She wanted something meaningful with him—a real relationship. And it felt like they were a good match. She felt something fluttering in her heart when she was with him.

She actually liked this boy. A lot.

This was a much different story than Wren. _Very_ different, in fact.

Wren was a bad decision. Bad timing. Something to yearn for because she felt so lonely and broken and empty inside. With all those bad feelings inside of her, Wren was right there, and he was showing interest in her. Since he was showing interest in her, Spencer gravitated towards him. He made her feel a little less lonely.

Alex made her feel less lonely, too. But this wasn't about distracting herself with something she couldn't (or... shouldn't) have. This was about her feeling something for him. Something _real_. She felt something for Wren, too, but it was more of desire because she wanted someone to want her over her sister. Her feelings for Alex were very, very romantic.

He supported her mother through the breast cancer scare and was an all-around good guy. And the best part was that her mother liked him now because he supported her. It wasn't a scandal waiting to explode like Wren.

She invited Alex over to her house after school one day. They ate some food in the living room before Alex made a move and put his arm around her. She felt herself beaming inside. _He likes me, he likes me, he likes me... he really likes me_ , she kept thinking. Despite all the craziness in her life, she had something gentle and good with Alex. He didn't know what was going on in her life, but she kept it hidden well enough.

She wanted to tell him, but their relationship was still so new that it felt wrong. She didn't want to destroy what they had because what they had was good. What if he wasn't ready to know the truth? What if he hated her after finding out about the Jenna Thing (that was always a guilty thought running on her mind)? Honestly, would she ever find _anybody_ decent who would accept her for those mistakes?

She swallowed hard, ignoring it, just trying to enjoy that she was here with Alex and he had his arm around her.

He turned his head and kissed her gently, placing his hand on her cheek. She smiled into the kiss, enjoying it. Oh, it was so good that she could kiss him without feeling guilty about it. He was her boyfriend and no one could get mad at her for this. He wasn't Melissa's used property, he was all hers.

After he pulled back, he rubbed her cheek with his thumb, smiling while looking into her brown eyes.

"Thank you for inviting me over, Spencer," he said sweetly. "...but I should probably leave now. I have to go to work."

Spencer was disappointed, but nodded her head understandingly. She really wanted him to stay, but work was work.

"OK," she nodded again. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Hopefully," he smiled. "You should come down to the country club and play tennis. Maybe we can play together."

She grinned harder, leaning in to peck his lips.

"You are going _down_ tomorrow, Alex," she teased.

"Oh, really? _Am_ I?" he teased back as he gathered his stuff and stood up. He chuckled, leaning down and pecking her lips again, since she was still sitting on the couch. "We'll see tomorrow."

He walked to the front door. Spencer _really_ didn't want him to go.

"Bye," she called out.

"Bye!" he called back before disappearing out the door.

She huffed, leaning back against the couch, but still smiling.

Everything was going so well between them—something that could last. Maybe not forever (Spencer wasn't naive enough to believe that a high school relationship could last forever), but definitely something that could last for a while. They still had almost two full years of high school left, since junior year had just begun. She was thinking that, with Alex, she could enjoy those two years... even if there was a stalker on her trail and the lingering pain of her best friend's murder following her around.

But soon, Spencer wished she hadn't lost track of her "hope breeds eternal misery" line, because... hope really did breed eternal misery. Her hopefulness in her relationship with Alex was... maybe a mistake.

It all started when Alex dropped her some new information. They were supposed to meet outside of school after Spencer finished field hockey practice.

When Spencer walked outside, Alex greeted her: "Hey!"

"Hey, I'm sorry," she apologized as she approached him. "Practice ran late."

She gave him a short kiss as an apology and a greeting, which he gladly accepted and smiled after. Spencer, who was also smiling, glanced down and saw some... pamphlets in his hands. Curiously, she reached down and touched them.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Oh, a member of the club gave it to me," he explained. "It's a tennis clinic in Sweden."

She scrunched her eyebrows. "Sweden? Why did he give it to you?"

"He wants me to apply," Alex replied, still staring down at the pamphlet. "A lot of people who go to it end up playing in the Swedish opening."

Immediately, excitement shot through Spencer's body. She was _happy_... for _him_. _Her_ boyfriend had gotten an amazing tennis-related opportunity, and she wanted him to take it. A part of her really liked the idea of him becoming a successful person, as shallow as it felt.

"Alex, this is amazing! You have to take it!" she exclaimed, looking at him with overjoy in her face. And her head flew to other places—she would have to spend a summer without him. But she had ideas to keep that from happening. Her parents had connections. "Maybe I could get an internship over there, like in Stockholm or something."

She was so excited to share her idea with him—a summer with her boyfriend in Sweden. The idea felt perfect. She wanted their relationship to become that close. And maybe she was _too_ obvious, she internally panicked.

He bent down to meet her eyes, trying to calm her down.

"Spencer, slow down. I'm not going," he admitted.

Spencer was _shocked_. Why would he _not_ take this opportunity that he was given? If the Hastings parents were his parents, there was _no_ chance that he would be able to give this opportunity up. And frankly, Spencer couldn't understand why he wouldn't want it.

"Why? If this guy recommended you, he must think you're up to it," she reminded him, hoping she could change his mind. She smiled, continuing, " _I_ think you're up to it. You are fantastic."

He was staring at the floor as she spoke, but she reached forward and pulled his head upwards, cupping both of his cheeks. He brought his eyes to meet hers, trying to _really_ give him the message that he should go.

Alex pulled away from her hold, shaking his head.

"I can't go," he told her. "I told my uncle I'd work for him." He started to walk down the stairs, continuing, "He needs the bodies."

Spencer laughed, almost incredulously as she followed him down the steps. She linked her arm with his, wanting to be close to him again. And she _really_ wanted him to go.

"Your uncle can find other bodies to help him rip down buildings," she almost rolled her eyes as they walked together. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

He turned to her, stopping them during their walk.

"I don't want to go," he said, shaking his head while facing her.

And the "elite girl" part of Spencer came out: "So, you'd rather spend the rest of your summer tossing broken plaster in a dumpster? That's insane."

"Maybe to you," he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not interested in playing pro. I'd rather be here... working... saving for college."

"Okay, and I get that," she started (but she didn't _really_ get it; her rich parents were paying every cent of her college tuition). "And that's good, but... how can you turn this down?"

He smirked a little, "Like this..."

He backed away from her, turning around and dropping the Swedish tennis clinic pamphlet into the school's garbage can, before turning back around and walking towards Spencer. He smiled.

"So, you ready to go?"

While they were hanging out that day, Spencer couldn't stop thinking about how he was denying an _amazing_ summer opportunity. Thanks to her upbringing, Spencer had been conditioned to believe everyone _needed_ a life plan. She thought about life in terms of, "What would look really good on my college application?" And she certainly believed that a tennis clinic in Sweden would help Alex get some type of amazing college.

Things were a bit awkward while they hung out, but Spencer planned on fixing that at Hanna and Mona's party. She had an idea—an idea that surprised her because it came to _her_ head.

She was sitting on the stairs of Hanna's house, nervous because she was soon going to tell her boyfriend what she had been thinking a lot about. Alex approached her on the steps with a red cup filled with _something_ in his hands. He handed it to her, settling down next to her by taking a seat on the stairs.

Nervously, she accepted the red cup. She finally found the courage to look at him and start debriefing what had been going on in her mind: "So, um... I was thinking... My parents have this little place up in Buck's County... What if we, uh, could sneak away up there next weekend?"

It was a big proposition—she knew that.

It implied a lot—she knew that.

But it seemed like a really good opportunity. They hadn't been dating all that long, she was aware, but part of her wanted to _keep_ him from ever wanting to go. They were a bit off because of their clashing views about college and life, but what if sex could change all that? A little bit of alone time could only strengthen their relationship, she felt. And it certainly could provide a good opportunity to get closer and talk about things she had been wanting to.

She couldn't tell him about A—not yet—but maybe they could talk about other things. She wanted somebody to talk to her about Alison DiLaurentis—in a _deep_ way, not just fake sympathy (or judgmental looks since people thought she didn't care about her friend).

She was feeling lonelier these days than she would have liked to admit. Things with Alex were _good_ but they weren't that close, they really weren't. They barely knew each other and were still getting to know each other, but there was like this barrier preventing them from _truly_ getting close and Spencer didn't know what it was or what to do about it. She thought a weekend away together could bring them closer together than ever.

In response to her proposition, Alex just chuckled quietly and looked down. Spencer wasn't sure what he meant by that look, but she was determined to get him to agree.

"Please don't say no until I at least show you a picture," she chuckled.

He turned his head back to her, smiling.

"You had me at 'I was thinking,'" he told her.

Spencer's smile widened. He _agreed_. Immediately, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. While she was kissing him, her eyes opened a bit, and she saw _Noel Kahn_. And after everything that had been happening with A and Noel Kahn, it spooked the hell out of her to look at him. She wasn't even kissing Alex back anymore; she was just staring at Noel. The kiss finally ended with a confused Alex pulling back, noticing she wasn't participating at all.

"What just happened?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows.

"N-nothing," she nervously replied. "I-it's just... a little bit busy here."

"Well, let's go outside," he suggested.

She took a sip, nodding her head nervously and frantically.

"O-okay. I'll meet you out there," she told him. "I'm just gonna go upstairs and use the bathroom."

"Okay," he agreed, getting up from the stairs and heading outside.

Spencer glanced back at Noel once Alex was gone. Noel was smiling _too_ sweetly... it was off. She almost shuddered, but forced herself up and actually went upstairs.

After she went to the bathroom, she washed her hands in the sink. As she stared into the mirror while absentmindedly rubbing soap in her hands thoroughly, she started thinking more about her relationship. Maybe _this_ was the wall keeping her from truly becoming close with Alex—maybe it was _her_. Maybe it was the fact that she couldn't let him know about any of this crazy stalker stuff that was going on in her life. She was scared that he would run away if he found out the truth—what if he couldn't handle it?

Who would be able to handle it, anyway?

Why would he _want_ to put himself in danger by staying near her?

But after rinsing the soap off her hands, she shook the bad thoughts off. She was just telling herself all this bad stuff because she was scared, right? It was a scary thing to do—to tell him about something so dangerous. She didn't want _him_ to be put in danger because he knew about it and A could punish him for knowing. But she told herself that she was wrong about _him_. He was an understanding guy.

He had been sticking by her side through all the crazy stuff so far. Maybe some day she would be able to tell him about this.

She smiled as she headed back downstairs to the bustling party. But she wasn't excited about the party, obviously. She was excited to go talk to Alex, who she had now decided was a much better guy than she had been giving him credit for in his head. If she had the option to tell him about A, maybe she would. Because she believed in him as a good, understanding person.

When she went outside of Hanna's house with a big smile on her face, Alex was sitting on the swing set attached to the tree. Spencer approached him from behind, placing her hands on the two ropes holding the swing up. She bent down so her head was close to his ear.

"It took me _forever_ to get into that bathroom," she told him. "Mona was spending quality time with her eyebrows."

She laughed quietly, hoping to hear a laugh come from Alex, too, but... _nothing_. Just silence. And he was looking down at the grassy ground with a disappointed expression on his face. Spencer backed away from him, noticing that something was clearly wrong.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked before walking around the swing to come to his front side so that she was facing him.

He sighed before announcing, "I-I'm gonna take off."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Why? Where are we going?"

She genuinely thought _they_ were going elsewhere because she didn't know of anything she could have done to upset him. _She_ couldn't be the reason that he was upset, right?

He stood up from the swings, facing her.

"I don't know what _you're_ doing, but _I'm_ going home," he jabbed, clearly pissed off.

He started to walk away from her, and she had no idea what she did to make him so mad at her. She felt stupid and was already mad at herself because she lost a good guy. She turned around, watching him walk away, feeling bad inside because she probably didn't deserve him, anyways. Not with all the mistakes she had made. Kissing Ian, kissing Wren, blinding Jenna, taking part in Alison's group (and doing nothing to stop her when she was mean to people)... She didn't know what she did, but she probably didn't deserve him, anyways—she knew that part.

But he turned back around.

"You couldn't resist, could you?" he asked incredulously.

He held his phone up for her. Spencer scrunched her eyebrows.

"What am I looking at?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"An e-mailed confirmation of my application to that tennis clinic," he responded bitterly.

"Okay," she smiled, not understanding what he was getting at.

She was _thrilled_ that he had apparently decided to apply for the tennis clinic in Sweden. She had been wanting him to do that. But she didn't understand why he was so pissed off about it, or why he was throwing his phone in her face, angrily showing her his application's confirmation e-mail. She wondered if he was mad because he felt like he had only done it to please her. But he wasn't like that, right?

"...which was sent in electronically," he continued.

Spencer suddenly realized what he was thinking. _He_ didn't send in that application—

"You think _I_ did that?" she asked, shocked.

"You're the only person I told," he revealed.

"Yeah, but I didn't," she shook her head, still shocked he was accusing her like this.

"Spencer, get real," he rolled his eyes. "Okay, you and I want different things, and you say you're okay with that, but you're not. And you never will be."

"I did _not_ send that in," she insisted. "But I apologize if I ever made you feel like—"

"Don't apologize for who you are and what you want," he shook his head. " _I'm_ not going to."

And with that said, Alex Santiago walked away from her life, never to be seen again. Spencer shrunk back, angry with herself and him and everything, before taking a seat on the swing set. She felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out, receiving a surprising yet unsurprising text from an unknown sender.

 _UNKNOWN  
Point, set, match!  
-xo A_

She immediately looked up and scanned the area to see if anybody was watching her, because they _had_ to be around nearby somewhere if they had seen Alex breaking up with her, right?

She swallowed hard.

Maybe she thought Alex was more understanding than he really was. Maybe she thought of him way too highly. He was a decent guy, but... maybe he really wasn't right for her. They were from different types of families and wanted different things, both of them knew that. Spencer never meant to force her "elite girl" agenda on him, but she figured she probably did so unintentionally, anyways.

He couldn't even handle an application to his tennis program, how would she expect him to understand anything else she told him about A?

Maybe it wasn't his fault because he didn't know any better, but it still hurt when she looked him in the eyes and told him that she didn't do it, but he didn't believe her. He didn't really trust her, did he? He still thought of her as the rich girl who looked down upon all people who didn't have "class," didn't he? He and his co-workers might have been playing around when they created the "Bitch Board" at the country club, but deep down, they meant it. And Spencer wasn't mad that his co-workers were thinking that way, she was mad that _Alex_ was thinking that way—that Alex thought of _her_ that way.

She decided that this was what she got for wanting a relationship so badly. She wanted things to become too deep too quickly, so she was trying to force herself to love being with somebody who she was so clearly not meant to be with.

After all, if he didn't believe her when she said that she didn't send his application in for the tennis clinic, there was no chance that he would believe her if she told him anything else about her life—including what was happening with A.

Spencer figured she mistook what they had as a lot better than what it really was. And don't get her wrong—she enjoyed the time she had with Alex, at least when things were good and they were just enjoying each other's company.

She didn't need some external friend or a boyfriend—not right now. As much as she wanted one, she had her group of friends, and they were dealing with something _massive_ , maybe something that nobody else could understand. Spencer figured that there were things she could be doing about _this_ instead of hoping she could find a new boyfriend or friend. She wasn't going to search anymore. If something was meant to happen, she would let it happen. But that was it—

Spencer's search was done.

* * *

 **This is all leading to Spencer's next (and most significant) relationship, coming up... And Alex was a good guy, a nice guy... but just not _Spencer's_ guy. He wasn't _the_ guy. And he made her feel better about some things in her life, but ultimately, things were probably not going to last for them. "A" just sped the break up process up a bit. **


End file.
